Surgical adhesive plaster for closing wounds



April 23, 1963 w. SCH UTz 3,086,531

SURGICAL ADHESIVE PLASTER FOR CLOSING WOUNDS Filed March 3, 1958 United States Patent Ofiice 3,086,531 SURGICAL ADHESIVE PLASTER FOR CLOSING WOUNDS Wilhelm Schiitz, Heilbronn (Neckar), Germany, assiguor to Lohmann K.G., Fahr (Rhine), Germany Filed Mar. 3, 1958, Ser. No. 718,890 1 Claim. (Cl. 128-335) When treating gaping wounds it is necessary to keep together the wound edges. If the wound is sewn ugly scars remain and furthermore in most of the cases a treatment on the very spot is not possible.

It has already become known to stick to the skin adjacent to both the wound edges-adhesive plasters and to connect these by special filaments or threads, which extend across the wound and are fastened to projecting hooks at the adhesive parts. Such plasters indeed allow an observation of the wound, however, the filaments or threads easily may grow into the flesh, beside this the healing process will be disturbed, when the surgical dressing is renewed.

In regard thereto according to the invention a surgical adhesive plaster for closing Wounds is designed such, that an adhesive strip by means of openings is subdivided into two bridge-like interconnected adhesive portions. The openings are substantially rectangular and always between two adjacent openings there is left a bridging web.

The webs bridging the wounds at the surface facing the wound are non-adhesive. At the surface facing the wound the bridging portion preferably is provided with a'wound-compatible coating, preferably a foil of synthetic material. The web portions bridging the wound may also be impregnated, that is, metalized in a woundcompatible way.

The surgical plaster according to the invention preferably is manufactured by punching the openings into the continuous plaster strip. The thus formed bridging webs may also consist of non-interrupted filaments or threads of the carrier material of the plaster. The length of the bridging parts depends upon the wound to be bridged. The width of the bridging webs is chosen such as to allow an easy observation of the healing process.

As an example in the drawing two embodiments of the subject of the invention are shown.

FIG. 1 shows a plan-view of a surgical adhesive plaster and FIG. 2 is a side elevation of another embodiment, in which the bridging part is provided with a covering foil.

FIG. 3 is a transverse section through the webs 4 and openings 5 for the purpose of illustrating the folded back portions of the web.

1 and 2 are the two adhesive plaster portions. 4 are the webs remaining between the openings. The openings are designated 5. The openings must not necessarily have everywhere the same shape, although in most cases this will be suitable. The size and the number of the openings depend on the size of the plaster and the wound to be closed.

FIG. 2 shows the carrier material 16, which continuously extends all over the length of the plaster and which is provided with the adhesive coating 17. The length of the openings 5 is indicated in FIG. 2 by the vertical lines 20. 18 designates a wound-compatible foil of synthetic 3,086,531 Patented Apr. 23, 1963 material, which in the region of the wound is put upon the adhesive coating 17 The sticking eifect of the web portions may be prevented by wholly or partly folding back the struck out portions, as shown, for example, in FIGURE 3, such as to cover the adhesive film at the webs. Thus also a reinforcement of the webs is attained.

The problem of a seamless closure of the wound under allowing a free admittance to the wound is solved by the invention in such a way, that the healing of the wound practically may occur under the eyes and a steady control of the doctor. The wound closed according to the invention is always freely accessible for the doctor. When using the surgical plaster according to the invention, the doctor may, e.g., easily perform a correction of the wound edges and he is able to treat the wound in any desired other way which he thinks to be necessary.

When closing wounds with plasters according to the invention there occurscontrary to usual wound closures by means of threads-not only a punctiform mobilization of the surrounding tissue towards the wound edges, but a mobilization of a surface. Thus the wound is held together all over its extension with an equal tension, what results in a quick healing of the wound because of the thus guaranteed circulation of the blood not hindered by tensions. Wound closures of the kind according to the invention prevent also the feared ulceration initiated by threads. With wound closures according to the invention each local narcotization of the vicinity of the wound becomes superfluous and a clean and quick healing of the wound is guaranteed.

The plaster is applied such that at first an adhesive portion 1 is placed on the skin beside the Wound and then the adhesive portion 2 is fastened at the opposite side of the wound while compressing the wound edges with a desired tension.

The web portions 4 may be provided with impregnation substances advancing the healing. For example, the web portions may be metalized. When changing the plaster the web portions do not adhere within the region of the wound so that the plaster may be changed without disturbing the healing procedure.

What I claim is:

A plaster for immobilizing tissues surrounding a wound during the healing thereof comprising a carrier sheet having an adhesive coating on the wound-facing surface thereof; and longitudinally extending slits formed inter mediate the ends of said sheet by partially striking out portions of said sheet, the struck-out portions being folded back against the remaining portion of the wound-facing surface 'of said sheet to form an adhesive-free bridging web between the adhesive-coated end portions of said sheet.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

